Undergraduate field research will expand at the University of Alaska Southeast because of a $219,000 National Science Foundation grant just awarded to biology faculty members Brendan Kelly and Beth Mathews.

"Most college students donÍt have this kind of research opportunity until they are graduate students," Kelly said. "We take advantage of our favorable faculty/student ratio here to involve our undergraduates in field research."

The nationally competitive NSF grant was awarded for three years. "WeÍre proud to have been selected," Kelly said.

"Eight to ten students from around the country, and current UAS students, will compete each year for the opportunity to come to the Juneau campus to be involved in the program," according to Kelly. Special efforts will be made to recruit Native Alaska and other students typically under-represented in the sciences.

Undergraduates selected for the program will be trained in a week-long research methods workshop. Then students will work on research with one of five faculty mentors. At the end of the program each student will write a paper and/or present a seminar on their independent project.